Formosat-5, the nation’s first domestically developed remote-sensing satellite, has taken more than 60,000 images since it was launched five years ago, the National Science and Technology Council said on the anniversary of its launch on Thursday.
The satellite was launched on Aug. 25, 2017, from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California by SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, and began commercial operations on Sept. 21, 2018.
Since then, it has taken more than 60,000 images with a success rate of 94.87 percent, council data showed.
Photo: CNA
Formosat-5 not only established Taiwan as a capable developer of satellites and optical parts, but also helps with disaster response around the world, council Minister Wu Tsung-tsong (吳政忠) said.
In the past five years, it has provided images of areas affected by 19 domestic and 101 international disasters, council data showed.
These include major events such as the July 2019 Ridgecrest earthquakes in southern California, flooding in Kaohsiung on Aug. 6 last year and the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcanic eruption in the South Pacific in January, the council said.
Through the images, countries could grasp a better understanding of the respective situation on the ground, it said.
Large-scale wind events, weather and other factors can affect the operation of reconnaissance aircraft, but satellite images can be taken immediately, the National Space Organization (NSPO) said.
The satellite also helps governments, industry and academics with ecological monitoring, Wu said.
For instance, Formosat-5 has helped countries in Central America fight Panama disease, which poses a serious threat to banana crops, the council said.
As the banana industry is crucial for diplomatic allies Guatemala, Honduras and Belize, they sought assistance from Taiwan to fight the fungus-caused disease, it said.
Researchers developed a program that can automatically identify affected areas through regular images taken by Formosat-5, enabling farmers to quickly remove threatened plants and stymie the spread, it added.
Formosat-5 set a milestone for Taiwanese space technology, the council said.
Third-party manufacturers involved in the satellite’s production have achieved the highest level of NASA’s nine-tiered technology readiness system, granting the industry a firm foothold in international markets, it added.
Formosat-5 is still in good condition, even though it has reached the end of its expected lifespan, the NSPO said.
For now, it is to remain in operation, with plans to experiment with other functions to gather data for future satellite design and maintenance, it added.
An undersea cable to Penghu County has been severed, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said today, with a Chinese-funded ship suspected of being responsible. It comes just a month after a Chinese ship was suspected of severing an undersea cable north of Keelung Harbor. The National Communications and Cyber Security Center received a report at 3:03am today from Chunghwa Telecom that the No. 3 cable from Taiwan to Penghu was severed 14.7km off the coast of Tainan, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) upon receiving a report from Chunghwa Telecom began to monitor the Togolese-flagged Hong Tai (宏泰)
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
RISING TOURISM: A survey showed that tourist visits increased by 35 percent last year, while newly created attractions contributed almost half of the growth Changhua County’s Lukang Old Street (鹿港老街) and its surrounding historical area clinched first place among Taiwan’s most successful tourist attractions last year, while no location in eastern Taiwan achieved a spot in the top 20 list, the Tourism Administration said. The listing was created by the Tourism Administration’s Forward-looking Tourism Policy Research office. Last year, the Lukang Old Street and its surrounding area had 17.3 million visitors, more than the 16 million visitors for the Wenhua Road Night Market (文化路夜市) in Chiayi City and 14.5 million visitors at Tainan’s Anping (安平) historical area, it said. The Taipei 101 skyscraper and its environs —
Taiwan on Friday said a New Zealand hamburger restaurant has apologized for a racist remark to a Taiwanese customer after reports that it had first apologized to China sparked outrage in Taiwan. An image posted on Threads by a Taiwanese who ate at Fergburger in Queenstown showed that their receipt dated Sunday last week included the words “Ching Chang,” a racial slur. The Chinese Consulate-General in Christchurch in a statement on Thursday said it had received and accepted an apology from the restaurant over the incident. The comment triggered an online furor among Taiwanese who saw it as an insult to the
RSS